Whilst the
church is in vacancy, following Christine’s retirement last November, it is very
much ‘Business as usual’. Our rota of services continues as before; the
communion services are being led at present by retired clergy and some of the
morning prayers are being led by ourselves. However, the Revd John Weaver, who
is a retired Baptist Minister, and who recently moved into the village with his
wife Sheila, has been given permission by the Bishop to officiate at our
communion services. We are most grateful to John for giving us so much help and
support at a very difficult time. Also, after March Christine will be available
again, so we shall be well served from then onwards.

However, Deanery
matters have become even more complicated. With the retirement of The Revd
Robert Evens from Sharnbrook, Felmersham and Souldrop, and also the Revd Peter
Mackenzie from Turvey and Stagsden, Jane Fox remains the only priest in the
Western group of some 12 parishes! This gives a rare opportunity for the
Diocese to consider the deployment of ministry in this part of the Sharnbrook
Deanery (including Harrold and Carlton) and the Diocesan Pastoral Committee and
the Deanery Pastoral Committee have been considering the way forward. Clearly,
this is a difficult situation to resolve and much thought has been put into
determining a long-term plan that will provide stability for the future rather
than a short-term fix; it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to start with a
clean sheet. There will be a meeting of Churchwardens from all the parishes in
the affected area on 23rd March to hear the proposals for the Deanery
from the Bishop of Bedford. Hopefully we shall be able to provide an up-date in
the April magazine.
Martin Eshelby, Jill Cheadle.

In December, BBC Countryfile
included a feature on rural ministry. We followed a vicar with pastoral care of
ten churches in Herefordshire, as he set off on a normal Sunday with four
different services in four villages. He stressed the importance of the church
as part of the community and confessed that he didn’t know what went on in the
ten villages. Well, how could he? He was fortunate in having the help of a
reader and retired clergy.

It is an important time for the
churches in North Bedfordshire. We have an ever increasing number of vacancies
in the Deanery: Wymington and Poddington, Odell, Turvey and Stevington, and from
March Sharnbrook, Felmersham and Souldrop. A group has been meeting to form a
Pastoral Plan for the Deanery and will now be focussing on this area. Happily,
the Bishop of St Albans is firm in his views of maintaining clergy numbers in
the Diocese and especially in rural areas, so we should not be faced with a
situation like Herefordshire and parts of Norfolk, with clergy responsible for
large numbers of churches. Please take an interest. Find out who the members
of the Deanery group are and express your viewpoint.

I recently went on a one day
conference at Coventry organised by the Arthur Rank Centre, called ‘GERMINATE!
Growing and equipping rural mission.’ About three hundred of us from many parts
of the country and from different denominations enjoyed a well-planned and
inspiring day.

It began with a video welcome
by Archbishop Justin Welby, in which he stressed how important strong community
is in rural ministry and urged us to be ‘brave and radical.’ The Bishop of
Shrewsbury, Mark Rylands, spoke about being a flourishing church to be there for
the community and a blessing for others. He particularly stressed how we can
get exhausted and need to remember that ministry is God’s, not ours, and our
role is to co-operate with him – to see where seeds are growing and to nurture
them. Throughout the day we were encouraged to write down ideas to reflect on
and put into action.

In this
time of uncertainty, I really appreciated the day for the opportunity to share
ideas and experiences with others in an atmosphere of mutual listening,
encouragement and prayer. Please support and pray for all those involved in and
responsible for future ministry in this area of Bedfordshire.
Jane Fox

WOMEN’S WORLD
DAY of PRAYER

Friday 6th
March at Harrold URC

10.30am

Women’s
World Day of Prayer is an International, inter-church, organisation which
enables us to hear the voices of women, from a different part of the world each
year, expressing their hopes and concerns and bringing them before the rest of
the world in prayer.

This
year’s order of service has been written by Christian women in The Bahamas and
translated into over 1000 different languages and dialects.

The theme
of the service is taken from St John’s Gospel:

Jesus said
to them:“ Do you know what I have done to you?”

Everyone
is welcome to attend the service, men, women – people of all ages. For further
information, please see the WWDP website:
www.wwdp.org.uk

Churches Together in Harrold and Carlton

Lent Course
2015 – Praise him

This
year’s course is called “Praise him – songs of praise in the New Testament.” It
explores five hymns and poems: what they tell us about God and Jesus, but also
reflecting on what they tell us about ourselves and our faith. There is a well
written study booklet by Dr Paula Gooder and the CD includes contributions by
Archbishop Justin Welby, David Suchet and Sister Wendy Beckett. Discussion in
small groups will focus on questions raised in the booklet.

Groups
will meet weekly from Monday 23rd
February to Thursday 26th
March over the five weeks of Lent in four homes in the villages as follows:

Mondays
7.30pm at 3, The Moor, Carlton.

Tuesdays
at 7.30pm at Pointers Lodge, Church Walk,
Harrold.

Wednesdays
1.30pm at 32 Rectory Close,
Carlton.

Thursdays
10.30am at The Stables, Church Walk, Harrold.

Each
session will last 1-1 ½ hours including time for refreshments.

There will
be a charge of £5 per person covering the cost of the individual course booklets
and the shared CD. If you would like to join a Lent group, please contact the
Churches Together Office on 01234 368564 or churchestogether@btinternet.com
by February 13th.

If you
would like further details please call Revd Jane Fox on 720262.

Copies of
the course are available at Church House to look at.

Churches
Together in Harrold and Carlton with Odell

United
Services

Fri March 6
10.30am Women’s World Day of Prayer Service at the United Reformed
Church, Harrold

Wed Apr 1
8.00pm Taize
Service and meditation at All Saints’ Church, Odell

Thur Apr 2
6.30pm Agape at
the United Reformed Church, Harrold

Fri Apr 3

Good
Friday 11.00am Short
service and erection of the cross on Harrold Village Green

2.00pm Hour at the Cross at St Peter’s Church, Harrold

See Round,
the Diocese of St Albans' monthly newsletter, is no longer produced in paper
form and delivered to church, but for anyone who is interested in what goes on,
you can sign up to receive it on your computer.
Visit
www.stalbans.anglican.org/news/seeround
and just click the link and follow the instructions.

Advance
notice that Summer Holiday Club for 5 – 11 year olds will be held from Monday 3rd
to Friday 7th
August 2015, each morning at the United reformed Church, Harrold. Details and
application forms will be available nearer the time, but do put the dates in
your diary so that you are free for this very popular event!

If you
would be willing to help as an adult or teenage helper and have not done so
before, please contact Church House Office 368564 – we shall be delighted to
hear from you.

Prayer
Group

What is
the Prayer Group? It is
made up of members of All Saints’ Church who undertake to pray regularly, on an
individual basis, for people who ask us for prayer support.

Who do we
pray for? Anyone whom
we are asked to remember; these might be people from our church, from our local
community or others known to us.

What do
we pray about? Anything
which you would like brought before God; maybe anxiety due to illness, stress or
loneliness. You can also tell us of a special day you wish to be remembered –
perhaps for an interview or an exam. Any information will be treated in
strictest confidence.

How can
you let us know if you would like us to pray for you? You can telephone Madeline
Jeeves (720803) and email mgjeeves@yahoo.com.

Messy Church (Fusion)

In
November we had a ‘Messy Christingle’. We made Christingles with oranges, red
ribbon, a candle and sweets on cocktail sticks and learnt what all the parts of
a Christingle mean. We thought about light and darkness and made sun ray
prayers. We did weaving with different coloured ribbons and thought about a red
ribbon representing God’s love spreading through everything. We lit the candles
on our Christingles and prayed in the candlelight. Then we shared a hot meal and
the biscuits we had decorated.

You are
very welcome to join us. The next sessions are: Monday 9 February and Monday 16 March.

Families
are welcome to come along to Harrold United Reformed Church from 3.30 to 6.00pm
to enjoy the fun and share a hot meal, but please contact Carol Ormond on 720409
to ensure we have catered for you!

Happy birthday to:

Jack
Holden Postles who will be 14 on the 10th
and to anyone else
with a birthday in February.

Please
send all entries for the March 2015magazine to Tricia Hudson (ed
at odellbeds.net)
or Catherine Corkery by
February 12th
at the latest. May we remind you that the editorial team exercises the right to
edit, shorten or alter any items that are submitted. Also, the opinions
expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and are not the
responsibility of the editorial team.